WHAT INFORMATION DO USERS NEED?
Corporate organizational structure has changed considerably in recent years. As part of
downsizing and business process reengineering, many companies reduced the number
of management levels and delegated responsibility to operational personnel. Although
modern organization charts tend to be flatter, an organizational hierarchy still exists in
most companies.
A typical organizational model identifies business functions and organizational
levels, as shown in Figure 1-22. Within the functional areas, operational personnel
report to supervisors and team leaders. The next level includes middle managers and
knowledge workers, who, in turn, report to top managers. In a corporate structure, the
top managers report to a board of directors elected by the company’s shareholders.
A systems analyst must understand the company’s organizational model to recognize
who is responsible for specific processes and decisions and to be aware of what
information is required by whom.